1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control device and a control program for a walking assist apparatus adapted to assist a user thereof with his/her walking.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, as this type of a walking assist apparatus, there has been known one disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H5-329186 (hereinafter referred to as “Patent Document 1”). In the walking assist apparatus (walking aid device) described in this Patent Document 1, supporting members are attached to the thigh, the crus, and the foot of each leg of a user thereof. In the walking assist apparatus, the joints connecting the supporting members are driven by actuators to impart desired motive forces to the user from the walking assist apparatus.
The walking assist apparatus described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above is capable of generating desired motive forces in a direction in which the user is moving so as to reduce the motive forces required to be produced by the user himself/herself. However, as it is obvious from FIG. 15 of Patent Document 1, the weight of a user is supported by the user himself/herself, resulting in an insufficient reduction of a load on the user. Furthermore, the one in Patent Document 1 does not have a technology for properly distributing a desired motive force to the legs of the walking assist apparatus, so that there has been a danger in that forces that do not match the motions of the legs of a user act on the legs of the user. Moreover, according to Patent Document 1, the supporting members of the walking assist apparatus are attached to the thigh, the crus, and the foot, respectively, of each leg of a user, and forces are applied from the supporting members to the thigh, the crus, and the foot of each leg. This has tended to cause the user to develop uncomfortable feeling.